Fired Over $15. Or Was It the HR Complaints? A laundromat worker reimbursed herself $15 from the register for a taxi fare—something she claimed was standard practice with a receipt. Three days later, she was fired. But because she had just complained about racial harassment, disability discrimination, and unpaid wages,…
You’d expect a company to listen when its Chief People Officer—especially one with nearly three decades of labor and employment law experience—raises concerns about compliance. Instead, this employer—a law firm—reassigned her shortly thereafter and fired her within the week of returning from bereavement leave. A jury just awarded her $3.27…
A recent Fifth Circuit decision offers a pointed reminder to employers, litigators, and trial courts alike: enforcement authority has limits—even after a verdict. At the center of the controversy? A court-ordered “religious liberty training” imposed on a corporate defendant’s attorneys by a judge dissatisfied with how the company communicated a…
After months of legal gridlock, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is about to get its quorum back—and a Republican majority with it. TL;DR: President Trump has nominated Brittany Bull Panuccio to serve as the third commissioner on the EEOC. Her confirmation would restore the Commission’s quorum and create a 2–1…
A Black lecturer in his 70s says a fellow professor in his department regularly made racially charged remarks—not necessarily directed at him, but about Black colleagues more broadly. A federal judge says that could be enough to support a hostile work environment claim under Title VII. TL;DR: A federal court…
This week, lawmakers in both the House and Senate reintroduced the Equality Act, a bill that would explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity across numerous areas of federal law. Although the bill has strong Democratic support, it lacks bipartisan backing—and given the political composition of Congress…
A machine operator with osteoarthritis tried to return to work with restrictions. Instead, he got terminated. Now his ADA case is headed for trial. TL;DR: A federal court just denied summary judgment in an ADA case involving a machine operator who asked to return from disability leave with light-duty restrictions.…
Diversity goals can strengthen a workplace — or, in some cases, spark a lawsuit. Just ask Clorox, now facing a revived gender discrimination claim despite its well-meaning initiatives. TL;DR: A white, male Clorox salesperson alleged age, race, and gender discrimination after he was let go during a company reorganization. Although…
When employees allege discrimination under the ADA, it’s their burden to prove bias — not the employer’s burden to defend every business decision. A recent Seventh Circuit case reinforces that when employers apply clear policies consistently, even imperfect decisions won’t amount to discrimination. TL;DR: An employee who failed a random…
Now you can listen to The Employer Handbook—check out this week’s podcast recap! TL;DR: I’ve turned this week’s blog content into a short podcast episode using Google NotebookLM. If you missed a post or want to catch up while multitasking, you can now listen to the highlights on the go.…